Tamagotchi Will Be Re-Released In North America

Bandai-Namco Announces Tamagotchi Will Be Re-Released in North America

Adults who were kids in the 90s are very nostalgic, and it’s easy to understand why. The 90s has been dubbed “The Last Great Decade” by many, and I have to agree. Because of this, the digital toy known as Tamagotchi will be re-released in North America starting in November.

While the Tamagotchi will be re-released in North America, they have never gone out of style in Japan. Liz Grampp, the vice president of brand management with Bandai America, said, “It is alive and well in Japan and has not taken a break.” Grampp said that the reason for bringing the pocket pets back to the States is the global response they received when the original designs were re-released in Japan. “Bandai America was flooded with requests to bring it back.”

How to Get Your Tamagotchi

The little digital pets will begin being sold online November 5 and will cost about $15 each. The six original styles will be available, although they are one centimeter smaller than the original. The reason for this is the belief that millennials like things smaller. Is that so? I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard that assessment before. The Tamagotchi will be re-released in the original package from the 90s.

If you’re old enough to remember them, I’m sure you had your own heartbreaking pocket pet experience. I know that I tried to keep one alive… ONCE! I don’t know if the one that I had was a knock-off version, or if it was a Bandai creation. All I know is that I fed it, cleaned up after it, and didn’t leave it in a hot car; and still, it died. I believe my pocket pet survived for around 36 hours. God forbid I go to sleep or go to a party, right?

There were three buttons on the Tamagotchi: feed, clean, and something else. Put it to bed, perhaps? All I know is that these little creatures were harder to keep alive than a real pet or a humanoid child.

Bandai has a website called Tamagotchi Friends where you can play a couple of not-so-great mini-games. But, what they really want you to do on the site is pre-order a Tamagotchi (or six) of your very own. Since the pocket pets original release in Japan, the company has sold 82 million of them. If you count the cheap-o knock-offs, that number is probably close to a gazillion sold.